Our fourth episode of Fashion Is Not Is is dedicated to John Galliano - one of the most extraordinary, theatrical and complicated figures in modern fashion history. Born in Gibraltar in 1960 and raised partly in South London, Galliano grew up between very different cultural worlds. His earliest years were shaped by Mediterranean colour, textiles, atmosphere and a family environment in which presentation and clothing already carried importance. After moving to London as a child, he found himself in an entirely different setting, but the relationship between clothing, identity and transformation had already begun to take shape. Before fashion became his profession, Galliano was drawn to drawing and illustration. That instinct eventually led him to Saint Martin’s School of Art, where his imagination began to develop into the visual language that would define his career. During his studies, he was exposed not only to fashion, but also to theatre, costume and tailoring. He worked as a dresser at London’s National Theatre and gained experience with Savile Row tailor Tommy Nutter, bringing together two worlds that would later become inseparable in his work: technical construction and theatrical fantasy. Galliano graduated in 1984 with first-class honours, and his graduate collection was purchased in its entirety by Browns, placing the young designer directly in front of the fashion industry.

​

Recognition, however, did not immediately bring stability. Throughout his independent years, Galliano became increasingly known for extraordinary cutting, historical references, romanticism and his ability to create complete characters through clothes, while the financial reality of running an independent fashion house became increasingly difficult. By 1993, his business was in serious trouble. His financial backing had collapsed, and by early 1994 his future had become increasingly uncertain. This is where Anna Wintour and André Leon Talley became crucial to his story. Both strongly believed in Galliano’s talent and were determined to help him continue, and through this circle he became connected with São Schlumberger, the Paris socialite, art collector and important fashion patron who would become part of one of the defining moments of his career. Schlumberger allowed Galliano to present his Autumn/Winter 1994 collection inside her private Paris residence. He had very little money and only a matter of weeks to prepare, but instead of allowing those limitations to weaken the collection, he transformed them into part of its atmosphere. The faded interiors became part of the fantasy, while dried leaves, handwritten letters and old objects created a world that felt romantic, mysterious and deeply theatrical. With access to only a small number of fabrics, Galliano relied on cut, construction and imagination rather than expensive materials. Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Shalom Harlow were among the models who appeared in the presentation. There were only 18 looks, yet those 18 looks became one of the defining moments of his career. Bias-cut dresses, 1940s-inspired silhouettes and Japanese references came together in a collection that felt intimate, cinematic and deeply personal. Galliano was creating fantasy with almost nothing, and the show helped restore his credibility in Paris.

​

Only a year later, Galliano entered the world of French haute couture. In 1995, he was appointed creative director of Givenchy, becoming the first British designer to lead a French haute couture house. The contrast was striking: Givenchy had long been associated with refinement, restraint and timeless elegance, while Galliano arrived with an entirely different creative vocabulary - romantic, theatrical, historically obsessive and deliberately extravagant. His time at Givenchy was brief, but it opened the door to the appointment that would define much of his career. In 1996, Galliano moved to Christian Dior, where he finally had access to the resources his independent years could never provide: extraordinary ateliers, craftsmanship, embroidery, couture techniques and the financial scale required to turn his imagination into complete spectacle. Under Galliano, the Dior runway became theatre. Collections were built around characters, historical periods, imagined journeys and cinematic narratives. Models did not simply present clothes; they appeared to inhabit complete worlds. Set design, styling, casting, music, hair and makeup all became part of the storytelling, and many of the images now inseparable from Galliano’s name were created during these years. His tenure at Dior lasted until 2011, when the house dismissed him following his antisemitic and racist remarks in Paris. For several years, he largely disappeared from fashion.

​

Then came Maison Margiela. In 2014, Galliano was announced as creative director, bringing together two seemingly opposite design philosophies. Galliano had built his reputation through fantasy, personality and spectacle, while Martin Margiela had built his through anonymity, deconstruction and experimentation. Yet the combination worked. Galliano gradually merged his fascination with historical dress, narrative and couture craftsmanship with Margiela’s language of reconstruction and transformation, eventually leading to Maison Margiela Artisanal Spring/Summer 2024, one of the most celebrated collections of his later career. Across Givenchy, Dior and Maison Margiela, three very different versions of John Galliano emerged: Givenchy gave him his entrance into Parisian haute couture, Dior gave him the stage on which his imagination could become spectacle, and Margiela gave him the opportunity to reinvent his creative language. This episode follows that entire journey - from his beginnings and independent years to the 1994 collection that changed everything, Givenchy, Dior, the collapse of 2011, his return to fashion and his final Artisanal chapter at Margiela. Because to understand John Galliano is not only to look at individual dresses or runway shows; it is to understand a designer who repeatedly treated fashion as something larger than clothing - as character, history, theatre, illusion, transformation and performance.